Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has directed officials to start restoring the damaged Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram project in December, strictly following the recommendations of national experts and the National Dam Safety Authority, The Hindu reported.
At a review meeting, he asked officials to secure final approvals by the end of November. The plan was later discussed in the Cabinet.
The cost and who pays
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and officials presented the restoration plan. Proposals estimated at about ₹4,193 crore have been prepared for the three barrages. Construction agencies would bear the cost of fixing defects, while the government would pay for additional works.
The gates problem
To lift water from Medigadda to the Yellampalli reservoir, the gates of the Annaram and Sundilla barrages would have to be closed. The NDSA has advised that the gates of these two barrages, which have structural defects, should remain open, according to the report.
The Chief Minister also asked ministers to counter what he called misleading claims about water availability at Medigadda.
Why it matters
The question is storage. The Chief Minister said in July that the NDSA's report had concluded the three barrages were unsuitable for storing water, Siasat reported.
In the meantime, the State says it has lifted more Godavari water through other schemes. Reddy said lifting through the Devadula scheme averaged 18.13 tmc ft a year over the last three years, against 9.57 tmc ft under the previous government. By October, 16.71 tmc ft had been lifted through Devadula and 8.10 tmc ft through Sitarama this year.
He also blamed the previous government for not building a barrage at Tummidihatti and completing the Pranahita project, which he said would have brought water to Yellampalli more cheaply.